Today, we treat being stressed and overworked as a badge of honor, a sign of seriousness and commitment; but this is a recent phenomenon, and it inverts traditional ideas of how leaders and professionals should behave under pressure. For most of history, leaders were supposed to appear calm and unhurried; success began with self-mastery and self-control.

— Alex Soojung-Kim Pang

The Birch Loft (photo: @dwightlypdx)

Can you relate to this? We can. Architects are notorious for being stressed and overworked. We boast about how many all-nighters we endured during school, even though it's an unsustainable practice and no one really enjoys it. Let's ditch our pride about how many hours we worked or how late we stayed up, because we're really just saying that we can't manage our time well and setting ourselves up for burnout.

Rest isn't the opposite of work - the two are complimentary, equal partners. If we take regular breaks and make time for leisure, we actually do better work in less time.

The spa at Birch Loft (photo: @dwightlypdx)

We believe that architecture can play a role in helping facilitate rest. We're interested in designing places where people can recharge their batteries, and get back to being fully human. The Birch Loft is one of those places.

Stealth Cabin (In design)

If you live in the city, getting out into nature is really important. We've been working on a few cabin schemes, including the Stealth Cabin, shown above, that will be places where phones aren't needed, work isn't required, and naps are encouraged. This will be where we can say enough is enough, we've done plenty, and just enjoy the world as it should be. These cabins will actually make our experience in nature better, rather than imposing on or distracting from it.

Take this as an invitation to take a break here and there, take care of yourself, and by doing that, enjoy life and get more done.